D038 Amend Canon II.3 to Remove Copyright Restrictions from Non-English Books of Common Prayer
Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring,
That Canon II.3 is revised to insert a new section 6, renumbering all following sections:
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Sec. 6. All editions of The Book of Common Prayer authorized by the Custodian of the Book of Common Prayer, including translations into languages other than English, shall be held without copyright in the public domain.
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Sec. 6. All editions of The Book of Common Prayer authorized by the Custodian of the Book of Common Prayer, including translations into languages other than English, shall be held without copyright in the public domain.
Explanation
General Convention, through the Canons of this Church, has made it clear that authorized versions of the Book of Common Prayer are to be in the Public Domain. Unfortunately, translations of said Book have not been treated as authorized versions, but rather revisions, with the Custodian of the Book of Common Prayer holding copyright on them. This creates an undue burden on non-English speaking congregations, which this canonical change seeks to ease by making it clear that all translations of the Book of Common Prayer are to be held without copyright.